The global economy makes long range business travel more essential than ever. However, other than Concorde, with presence declining as transatlantic flights have discontinued, the pace of business travel remains at 1960's-era speeds. Technology advances have produced longer range, safer, and more comfortable aircraft—but not faster flights.
Supersonic overland capability and range are drivers of market potential for aircraft in the commercial and business sector. Buyers of supersonic commercial aircraft are expected to be from entities such as corporations, governments and government agencies, and high net-worth individuals. Most operators are expected to be large organizations, for example corporations and governments, with sophisticated flight departments that can manage multiple aircraft types. Flights are expected to depart and arrive in a wide range of environments, from large international and national airports to small local airfields or suburban airports, with or without substantial service capabilities.
Although a supersonic aircraft for usage in commercial and business environments is to have many characteristics of a high-performance military aircraft, flight characteristics, operations, maintenance, and cost should be compatible to a business or commercial realm. The aircraft should be compatible with the infrastructure, servicing and operations experience base, and air traffic control system of the extant civil business jet.
The user community expects the aircraft to be usable not only in large, urban international hubs but also in suburban airports so that compatibility with shorter runway lengths, narrower taxiways, and lower maximum gross weight surfaces is desirable. Servicing and maintenance compatibility with personnel, equipment, and capabilities found at well-equipped fixed based operators (FBOs) and maintenance facilities is highly useful.
Many of the desirable features of supersonic civilian aircraft, particularly low-boom performance and long range, are very difficult to attain. Bill Sweetman in “Flights of fancy take shape—from Jane's (www.janes.com)”, 21 Jul. 2000, discusses the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Quiet Supersonic Platform (QSP) program that is intended to develop an efficient supersonic-cruise aircraft that does not produce a sonic boom. The difficulty of such a result is indicated by the agency's admission that only a revolutionary design will meet the goal, and that incremental application of new technologies, or integration of existing technologies, is expected to be insufficient to attain the reduced boom goal.
Extension of aircraft range involves balancing of fuel capacity, payload volume, fuel consumption at desired speeds, aerodynamic, and other factors. Reduction of aerodynamic drag can assist in extending range, reducing sonic boom, and improving aircraft performance.